TRESE unreported murders by budjette tan and kajo baldisimo

Alexandra Trese won’t make it in Alaska, if she needs to wear a trench coat in sweltering Manila. But, hey, I can relate… style before comfort.

In Trese, Manila is a black-and-white world, sheltering all sorts of things that go bump in the night. If there’s something strange in the neighborhood, who are you going to call? Not Ghostbusters, they’re loud and clumsy. In the cracks of reality in Manila’s underbelly, a deft touch, favored by compromise, backed up by much firepower, is needed.

The second volume in Trese’s saga, Unreported Murders offers more of the bizarre, yet almost believable tales involving crimes committed by or against the Philippines’s creatures of lower mythology, the kind that fears the light,  that are drawn instead to sewers and the city’s forgotten spaces. Urban legends are given life, shape, and form, as part of us, contributing to society in their own big and little ways.

“Beware the criminals that can’t be bound with handcuffs nor harmed with bullets.”

Truly, to read this book is to be taken to familiar places—Mother Ignacia in Quezon City, the cemetery along Kalayaan street in Makati, the big malls in Ortigas, and a posh subdivision near Rockwell—transformed into the other side of the mirror where we refuse to look too closely for fear of encountering our own dark souls. Unfortunately, the city is peopled by certain beings, the manananggal (human-like creature whose upper body separates from his/her lower extremity, sprouting bat-like wings at night; preys on pregnant women), duwende (gnomes), tiyanak (souls of aborted fetuses turned malevolent) and laman-lupa (earth elementals), who are only too willing to turn our dreams into reality, for a kiss, a song, or a curse.

Encounters sometimes end in death, or worse.

Each episode, or case, begins with a map, a strangely frightening one indicating the scene of the crime by a few lines only slightly visible from the blackness of the rest of the page. As each case progresses, we get to have a better feel for Alexandra, and her way of doing her job. In the previous volume, I immediately noticed that all is not well between psychic dad, Anton, and daughter. I have an idea that while dad is super honest and straight, the daughter is less rigid, preferring to play with the dark side and make deals with its creatures. We’ll probably know more about their relationship in the third (and last?) volume.

And just like in volume 1, the cases are quite unforgiving of slip-ups, even by deeply cherished archetypes and pop culture icons who somehow got entangled in the machinations of the underworld. Showbiz stars, high profile doctors, department-store scions, elite-village residents—they are not the untouchables of Manila; they are the weakest link keeping humanity together against these otherworldly forces.

There are some unforgettable characters in this volume: Case 5’s poor dead duwende,who can give Simon Cowell a run for his money, paid for his lack of good judgment with his life, betrayed by his talent’s attachment to fame and glory. The lizard guy, who used to skulk in ladies’ dressing rooms at Robinson’s Mall (changed to Robertson’s Mall in the book), turns out to be an internet geek, and is now online buddies with one his victims.

Sad to say, case 8 left me with the strongest impression, not because it was the strongest story, but because, in the aftermath of Ondoy’s and Pepeng’s fury, I can only view it as prophetic, a threat made terrifyingly true.  As I see it, there were hundreds of unreported murders recently. But the murderers weren’t Ondoy and Pepeng.

—–
Trese is a graphics novel, written in English.

TRESE murder on balete drive by budjette tan and kajo baldisimo

Armanaz, Armazan… He’s still a tikbalang living in a penthouse suite.

Where life and light should be are only shadows and grey lines. The map of Trese’s Metro Manila contains no details. All I know is that I am in there somewhere, living my ordinary life, and they are there as well, loving and hating, the same us us, side by side with us, however hard we pretend they are not there. And sometimes, out of passion or greed, they commit crimes.

Who do I call for paranormal help then?

With a concept as striking as this, who would fail to pick up this latest work of genius from a dynamic Filipino duo, Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo? Especially now that the country’s publishing industry is struggling mightily to stay afloat, I can only be overjoyed to encounter innovative concepts take form.

A graphic novel, Trese follows the cases of paranormal investigator Alexandra Trese as she takes on the mantle of psychic dad. The first case is a double-dead mystery, a hit-and-run of a white lady, ghost of a wronged woman who appears to motorists, causing them to swerve and crash. Trese investigates how a ghost could die again, and who would wish to murder her.

In this volume, the first, four cases are featured, dark tales full of tears and violence, drawing heavily on Filipino folklore. The nuno (a little old man) does not live in the punso (ant hill) anymore; it has made another home in a manhole, peering out from under the heavy metal cover to dispense tips for Trese. Aswangs (humans who transform into animals to eat the flesh of babies) hole up at the pier, planning their next kidnapping spree. In the tallest building in the metropolis is the headquarters of the city’s most powerful business tycoon, a tikbalang (a giant, with the face and hooves of a horse) who controls his empire through human underlings. Trese is assisted by the Kambal (twins), creatures of indeterminate paranormal origins, who wear the two masks of man—happy and sad—while in combat. And, engkantos, sentient spirits of nature, are everywhere, assuming human forms to play with humanity’s weaknesses, challenge our strengths, and offer us our dreams—for a price.

With no colors to soften the violence of the drama that plays out in Manila’s underbelly, reading Trese is a visceral experience. The lines are starkly drawn, and there are no clear boundaries between frames. For good or ill, the denizens of the dark live among us, having as much right to be here as we do—and they play no favorites… Case 4 is a case in point.

………………..
Trese is written in English, with only a few Tagalog terms for uniquely Filipino phenomena or mythological beings. I imagine a non-Filipino reader would find it very interesting, yet startling.

tapestry by lynn kurland, madeline hunter, karen marie moning, and sherrilyn kenyon

Woven into four worlds of chivalry and honor, of danger and desire, are threads as fine as the touch of their creator, or as rough as the earthy desires ringing in the  cash register. Containing a healthy balance of these two types, Tapestry was a good read, an in-between-er that allowed me to rest my mind from my current main read, which is Prospero’s Children by Jan Siegel.

Of the four stories, my favorite is To Kiss in the Shadow by Lynn Kurland, where a young man discovers his noble quest is to love and protect a shy young woman hiding her ruined beauty behind a tapestry frame. An Interrupted Tapestry by Madeline Hunter is a sweet tale about a wealthy trader who  won the best deal of his life by finally declaring his love to an impoverished noblewoman he has loved for years, saving her from dishonor in the process. Shamelessly indulgent and escapist, Dragonswan by Sherrilyn Kenyon followed up the lust-on-first sight with an info overload of the story’s mythology so the fight and bed scenes could get it on with little competition—I didn’t care for this one.

Karen Marie Moning’s Into the Dreaming involves another Highlander, made mad from being imprisoned by the Unseelie King in an ice world for centuries; to ruin the plans of her enemy, the Seelie Queen transports a 20th-century aspiring romance novelist to 15th-century Scotland to bring some life back into the man of her dreams.This last was very funny, though I must honestly say the aspiring writer-heroine sucks at writing. Fortunately, her medieval audience are less critical of her bawdy style of writing.

callwork, a call center life by hazel manzano

See, whining is useful!

“Most of her comics are centered on the agent’s perspective. It is a good resource because it shows what the bigger population is thinking. All are true and though it is presented as being humorous, it is being used by management as basis to improve processes and employee satisfaction in the centers.” –Callcenterscript.com

Ngii! Isn’t this a nice way of saying the comics writer let the cat, so many cats, out of the bag? Did the call center life become easier—or more difficult, now that the cat owners can’t get away with certain things as easily as before?

From training stage to call center operations like average handling times, from dealing with irate agents to office affairs, from night shift issues to absenteeism, from demotivation among agents to call center gimiks, from call center angsts to managers’ bad habits, this comics seems to have covered the most important concerns of call center employees today.

Written with wry wit, Callwork presents us with the inside jokes in the call center industry, helping us  understand better the culture that is helping drive the Philippine’s economy forward. So help us, despite all that you will read here, this culture has a major role in whether we sink further in the muck, or rise like the Philippine eagle.

The drawings are as if done by a high school girl, but better composed, and are inspired by real people and situations from the cartoonist’s years in the industry. The childish drawings actually highlight the workplace environment the management of many call centers is said to practice: acting like petty tyrants, treating agents as if they were unruly kids instead of the professionals that they are (or should be). In fairness, sobrang pinakita din ang mga kalokohan ng mga agents (agents’ foibles and fumbles are also spotlighted).

Though not an agent, I am in the BPO industry, and can relate to that life. I have encountered many of these issues, told to me over cups of coffee, or tears of frustration triggered by bottles of SanMig Light. Though not an agent, I am as easily vulnerable to the fact that, as an employee, I am just a cog in a machine, easily replaced, easily lost. And this is why I appreciate this work, on top of the obvious appeal, the ka-kwelahan (riotous humor) and light reading material.

Where indifference is the status quo and where connections or office politics allow rusty cogs to remain, silence is often the slow-acting acid eventually killing the machine. Loud and funny, Callwork is a fast-acting neutralizer. Who knows, seeing ourselves cartoonized, pretensions stripped, true lines revealed, could wake us up into looking into the mirror, to see someone who can still make a difference, by treating our jobs like the blessing that they are, deserving our full commitment, not derision.

I believe that we can only succeed to put ourselves down if we only have contempt for what we do. Do something to make our job life better—or get the hell out, is what I think.

English translations can be found on the author’s blogsite.

the hunger games by suzanne collins

Haven’t heard of Hunger Games? Go to the nearest bookstore, then, to get your own Torture Channel, desensitization at its finest! When you’ve had your fill, remember the four notes of birdsong to find your way back home.

Testing, testing.… Good day, good viewers. We are now at the home of Art Seblis, a reader of no  uncommon hunger for all things dark and creepy. Having heard that Art was in the middle of an unusually horrifying read, the Read (pronounced as ‘red’) Patrol decided to sneak up on the book blogger to give you a first-hand account of what may be the ‘read of the year, if not the decade.’

The Read Patrol reporter startles a very disheveled Art Seblis, who can be seen clutching a hard bound book; on the cover is an image of a fierce looking bird and an arrow.

RP: So Art, it’s The Hunger Games now, is it? Can you tell us about it? What made you read it? I hear it’s very YA, which is a little off the kinds of books you usually read.

AS: I was reluctant, initially—largely due to the story itself. But friends highly recommended it. So I gave it a try. Now, I can’t think of a universe in which I had never read it. Having read something with such powerful characters and message, one can’t help but be changed, despite my preferences for other genres.

RP: Wow, what a tribute. What is it about, anyway?

AS: It follows the story of Katniss, a 16-year old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of a dystopian world. Every year, 12 districts send a couple of their children ages 12 to 18 (chosen by lottery) to participate in the Hunger Games, a contest where they are placed in unfamiliar terrain and are expected to murder each other. Last child standing wins fame, riches, and the Capitol’s all-out- favor… The other to be chosen from Kat’s district is Peeta, a baker’s son.

RP: Oh my goodness, that’s horrible!

AS: It’s something like Battle Royale, but bloodier and more horrific, because society actively takes part in this ultimate cruelty to their children in the name of entertainment. I hesitate to use the term “innocents” to refer to the participants: in a game where the rule is “to kill or be killed,” they had to learn to suppress finer emotions, such as love and compassion, the attributes of a  good human being,  for a better chance of surviving the Game. Torture, mutilation, decapitation, bombing, poisoning, skinning, and a host of other kill methods are acceptable and encouraged. In that sense, they aren’t children anymore.

RP:*gasp* How can you enjoy a book like that?

AS: Ah, well, don’t you rage against the machine sometimes? This book is full of that particular angst, with just cause. But as much as it is full of brutality and other disturbing themes, it is also characterized by brilliant bouts of heroism, self sacrifice, and friendship. That Kat and Peeta (and a few other characters) managed all these was most impressive, given that they had been taught to trust no one in order to win. It was Kat’s 12-year old sister whose name was drawn in the lottery, but Kat refused to let her go, stepping up to go in her place. Between Kat and Peeta there developed a partnership, even affection. In the arena itself, amid the ugliest in humanity survived a flame of humanity, fragile but strong enough to flip the finger at the government’s grand plan to keep hope dead.

RP: *perking up*  Hope, that’s a promising word.

AS: Yep, hope is such a  crucial element in this story, without which the story degenerates into a royal rumble. Hunger, fear of it, motivates all of them; all of us, actually. It can either break you or remake you. I know something about this, but that’s another story altogether. Anyway, I’m glad to report that hunger did not break Kat nor diminish her; instead it made her stronger and wiser, making this book such an interesting read.

RP:  Our viewers are certainly going to check this book out based on your intriguing comments. Is it safe to assume that this book is highly recommended by you?

AS: God, yes. I was in a state in a shock upon finishing it! Others I know who read it said they were also strongly affected. The writing is extremely good, brilliant but sharply disciplined. The plotting was tight, the pace kept me at the edge of my seat. All the scenes were fraught with danger, even makeup and styling (in the preparatory stage of the game, where the players are presented so the public could place bets on them) as every detail is integral to  improving Kat and Peeta’s chances at surviving the Games. It’s got romance, fiendish intrigue, and insights into the human character.  And the characters are so dynamic! Rarely do I become so invested in characters that, even hating what was happening to them and what they had to do, I stuck with them till the end and will definitely follow up through the sequel, Catching Fire.

… Another thing, the world of the Hunger Games may be make-believe, but I believe it mirrors our own. Who’s the next bachelorette whose heart will be broken? The tribe member who will be voted out of Survivor? The housemate whose dirty laundry will be aired next with Big Brother’s blessing? It really is not such a big step from here to the world of the Hunger Games.

RP: How ominous. But, we’re running out of time. Do you wish to add anything more?

AS: Yes. If you had to make a choice between two evils, what will you choose? Will you choose? Kat and the others faced this dilemma again and again. I wonder how we will fare given similar circumstances.

RP: That wraps it up! So, dear viewers, there you have it, the words straight from the mouth of Art Seblis about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Honestly, it sounds like an all-you-can-watch-violence reality TV show. Who would get a thrill from seeing people get tortured?

Moving on, our next segment is very funny. Enjoy this clip.

the highlander’s touch by karen marie moning

With a mischievous dark elf around, how can he expect her to find the garderobe, much less use it?

Before there was the Fever series, there was the Highlander’s. A fun, light read, The Highlander’s Touch is part of a time travel romance series by Karen Marie Moning. In this book, fiercely independent but down-on-her-luck Lisa got caught up by a curse placed on a magical flask. Having fallen into 14th-century Scotland, in the castle of a forbidding warrior, she must learn to trust her captor as well as navigate a highly feudal and tumultuous time, while trying to figure out the finer points of using a chamber pot.

In tone, and, definitely, in emphasis, this one is very different from the darkness and violence of the urban fantasy that was my introduction to Moning. Though it does contain the same Celtic, Irish, and British mythological references that I encountered in Fever, minus much of the peril.

Because I had really liked Fever, I figured that her Highlander books wouldn’t be bad. Well, this book doesn’t have the tight pacing of Fever, but it’s got humor, and a bed scene that didn’t offend my sensibilities that much, not because it wasn’t explicit (It was! It was! ), but because the events leading up to that moment were carefully orchestrated so that when it did happen I didn’t feel that the heroine gave in out of the publisher’s demand for smut but as a natural choice influenced by events and emotions in the book.

and then he kissed her by laura lee guhrke

I love her gown, though. Bright yellow, empire waist, elegant lines…

Jane Austen must have spoiled me for other romances. Because when I read other romances, I usually end up disappointed. They say hi, then rip at each other’s clothes on page 7; or she is all sensible and smart initially, but a fool for a kiss on page 5. Where is the build up, the suspense, the integrity if all declarations of principles or virtue or determination are thrown out the window at the drop of a hat? Yet, I still read romances every now and then, to escape, to breathe, to wallow in fluff, hoping for a good read, if not an unforgettable romance.

Starting out fun, And Then He Kissed Her was a good, funny read –until about three fourths into the book, where the plot degenerated into formula, meaning the heroine suddenly turned into another person, who conveniently could sleep with the guy despite supposedly possessing a strict of set of values and principles that forbids becoming a man’s mistress. A woman of the 1890s, Emmaline Dove takes her reputation seriously. With heart set on becoming a writer of manners and etiquette, she stuck with her job, secretary to Lord Marlowe, publisher and determined bachelor, for five years. Thinking he was her best chance of making her dream come true, she bit her tongue, bought present for her boss’s amours, and assumed a bland front against the man’s womanizing.

She almost had him fooled—until he had the gall to reject her manuscript without even bothering to read it through, and he saw how interesting Miss Emma actually was.

Well, what followed is his pursuit of her, and her fall from grace (in my book), bur not because she gave in, but because she gave in to the oldest line in man-will-do/say-anything to get woman-to-sleep-with-him-history, “sleep with me or you’re not a true woman.”

I don’t mind some bodice ripping in my stories, but I do like it if the woman keeps her integrity in the process.

unclean spirits: book one of the black sun’s daughter by m.l.n hanover

In the first chapter, the man who has all the secrets and mysterious plans is murdered…. and all because he took things for granted.

Jayne Heller is a 22 year old college dropout who inherits her murdered uncle’s vast estates, and unfinished business. A ruthless cabal of wizards known as the Invisible College harnesses demon spirits for power and world domination. A realist, Jayne found it difficult to believe in the cabal’s existence. Unfortunately,  it doesn’t share her reluctance, and is quite convinced she is a threat to their goals.

Collecting an assortment of allies—cursed chef, ex priest, Buddhist mystic, and attractive scientist, she sets out to continue her uncle’s legacy, and to survive the attacks against her. Unlike most urban fantasy heroines, she has to operate in a totally clueless-about-the-monsters-within-us society, meaning she has to work around or break some rules not just to survive but also succeed. An unexpected ability to dodge magical spells and kick ass makes the job easier, but piles up more unanswered questions.

Throughout the book, there were references as to how smart, resourceful, but secretive her uncle Eric was. Irritated, I would think, “but he was offed so easily in the first chapter!” He doesn’t exactly inspire much confidence from me, and yet Jayne’s present and future survival depends on the empire of properties, information, and secrets the uncle collected over the years.

But, there is hope, mine, that nothing is what it seems. The death of Randolph Coin, demon leader of the bad guys, bothered me. He was in despair, over dying or over the death of something he also is fighting for.  This book may not be as exciting to read as others in the genre (the romance elements sucked, it dragged sometimes, the heroine is courageous but a cry baby…) but it has complexities that will certainly bring me back to the sequel, Darker Angels.

Now, if only her group of unlikely companions had more personality beyond the labels we conveniently set them apart with, this book would rise above the crush of urban fantasies in bookstore shelves.

must love hellhounds by charlaine harris, nalini singh, ilona andrews, and meljean brook

Sure, but I’ll take two only please. The other two aren’t very cute.

Featuring four all-new tales of devilish dogs by four urban fantasy bestselling authors, Must Love Hellhounds was a welcome snack in between meals—while I recuperate from intense reading experiences, taking the edge off my appetite for favorite authors while I wait for the next titles.

Charlaine Harris is always delightful to read, though her tongue-in-cheek fantasy, The Britlingens Go to Hell, does not really inspire me to pursue further the adventures of paranormal bodyguards, Clovache and Batanya, through whatever world their assignments take them. I view this more as a writing exercise, a grabber so fans will buy this anthology. Expecting Sookie and her entourage of vampire hotties, they will be disappointed.

Angel’s Judgment by Nalini Singh introduces me to the Guild Hunter universe. If first impression counts, then I would advise these archangels, vampires, and guild hunters to get their acts together and act more like what they’re supposed to be and not spoiled brats on a game of tag so they could rack up more star points with me. As it is, this romance between two minor characters of the series fail to impress me.

Magic Mourns by Illona Andrews develops the relationship further between Andrea of the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid and shapeshifter warrior Raphael. I loved the Kate Daniels series, and I love the tense relationship between Kate and pack lord Curran. But this story had me reviewing the series not because of the major characters but for nuances and details of Raphael’s tenacious pursuit of Andrea I may have missed. A very fun read.

Meljean Brook’s Blind Spot intrigued me. A blind man who can see through the eyes of others joins a vampire’s bodyguard/assistant to rescue the vampire’s niece. The writing was deft and left enough hints of that world’s mythology to make me want to buy the series the short story spun off on.

If anyone had something in common to say about me, it would be, “I have a huge appetite, for food and books!” But rich fare can be overwhelming, so anthologies like this, giving us just a taste, are a welcome break. Like munching on cookies or sipping an apéritif.

the scent of shadows: first sign of the zodiac by vicki pettersson

The romance is secondary to the story, I know, but I’m convinced Ben Traina would make an awesome star of a spinoff gritty detective series where something fishy is always paranormal.

Reading this fast and furious, I was blown away by the dark and edgy storyline, the strong characters, the sharp lines between good guys and bad guys. The characters’ emotions were violent and powerful and the writing was compelling, engaging me with its flair for the dramatic. Then I took a moment to breathe, sat down for a more detailed read, and discovered the gaps in the plot, the weak links, and the soft spots.

The Sign of the Zodiac Series follows the adventures of Joanna Archer, a freelance photographer and reclusive heiress who finds out she belongs to a supernatural group of beings calling themselves the Zodiac. Set in glitzy Las Vegas, an age-old battle between the Light and the Shadow sucks in innocents and villains alike. Brutally raped as a teenager, Joanna survived to prowl the streets after sunset, seeking for answers, and revenge. On her 25th birthday, she got her wish, transforming into the Archer, at the cost of a dear one’s life.

Yes, this is superhero stuff, complete with trading cards, lurid comics-style scenarios, and geeky fanboys in a corner comic shop where Joanna goes to research on the mythology of her race. A little corny, but the twists got me cornered into continuing. Apparently, Joanna learns, she is more than a Zodiac Sign; she is the Kairos, of Light and Shadow both.  Both sides want her, dead, alive, fighting with them, away from them… Sorry, it gets a bit tricky determining which way the wind blows.

This aspect is important, because Like Jean-Babtiste Grenouille of Perfume (The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind), these creatures track by scent. Their superhero senses could smell light and shadow, innocence and cruelty, everything in between as naturally as breathing—a talent that makes them sharp. Supposedly. So why these flaws?

• Joanna’s age that she was raped keeps shifting from 15 to 16 then back again.
• If the Shadow and Light can’t read each other’s comics, why don’t they ask/torture mortals who easily can for the story?
• Joanna’s glyph should glow when true enemies are around, not only at cinematic moments with her “true father.”
• The Tulpa, head of the Shadow Zodiac, sent a minion to rape and kill Joanna. Even if her scent was camouflaged afterward, they could have done basic research to figure out whose family she belongs to and that she survived.
• Was it such stretch for the Tulpa to consider his affair with a Light Agent may have born fruit and that he was the father of the Kairos?
• If a child of the previous Archer was so hated by the Tulpa, why didn’t he target Joanna’s sister Olivia, too?

I noted several more, but noting them all down would take up too much blog space. But what the heck, this is comics stuff. We love these glaring discrepancies so we will have the pleasure of pointing them out, filling them up with our own imaginative conjectures. In my book and In Scent of Shadows, the visuals and olfactory-rich narrative made it well worth the read.